The writing style is great. Very thorough, well thought out and researched. But, did not finish due to not my type of book.

The Scientist and the Serial Killer by Lise Olsen is a fun, suspenseful true crime story that draws you into the gripping mystery and holds your attention until the very end. The book feels like a great Dateline episode but never caught me as much as something like I’ll Be Gone In The Dark.

As a lover of true crime I found this book to be meticulously detailed that deeply explores a chilling series of mass murderers during the 70’s in South Texas. This book dives deeply into the perspectives of detectives, the haunting locations where bodies were discovered, the anguish of the witnesses and victims' families, and the scientists who painstakingly pieced together identities from skeletal remains.
The story is comprehensive, and the author balances all human, scientific, and procedural aspects, creating a vivid picture of the complexities that surrounded this case. The inclusion of insights from the justice system of that era adds a fascinating layer of context, revealing both the strengths and shortcomings of legal and investigative practices at the time.
The Scientist and the Serial Killer is an engaging book for anyone interested in true crime, forensic science, and the human stories behind major criminal investigations.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Olsen and Random House Publishing for the ARC of this great book!

Dang. When I started The Scientist and the Serial Killer by Lise Olsen, I immediately had the sneaking suspicion this would be a book which had great information but would end up overstuffed. The first chapter, for instance, is immediately engaging, but oddly, there were a lot of very long sentences trying to cram as much story into them as possible. I hoped it was just beginning jitters, but unfortunately the problem expanded.

The book looks at the serial killer Dean Corll and two of his accomplices. It also follows Dr. Sharon Derrick who in the almost present day is still working to positively identify some of the victims decades later. There is also a few chapters on near victims who barely escaped Corll's grasp. Oh, there is also some allusions to horrible police work and maybe a pedophile ring. Do you see the issue?

On top of this, chapters will jump back and forth between the time of certain killings or the work of Derrick. I could see how Olsen was trying to organize the book but ultimately it was too many people, too many timelines, and stories which could end up half-baked.

It's truly a shame because Olsen does some great work at times. She is clearly trying to bring dignity back to many victims who were shoved to the side. This is not a true crime book which is just peddling in horror and some aspects of it are truly engrossing. Unfortunately, there is just too much of some things and not enough of others.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Random House.)

I enjoy true crime novels. This book tells the story of Houstons Lost Boys, their serial killer and the scientist who helped to ID many of the victims. This book was written in a format that is more dense and scientific so if you are looking for an easier true crime read, this is not for you. It gets more in-depth and at times the story of the victims seemed to get a bit lost. It is sad that not all of the victims have been identified

So many books about this scumbag serial killer have come out lately. But this one is at least different enough to justify existing.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the copy of The Scientist and the Serial Killer The Search for Houston's Lost Boy by Lise Olsen. I found this book difficult to get into even though it opened with a bang. I couldn’t keep track of or get to know the victims or the killer even though there was a lot of description. In some ways it’s unfair for me to rate this book because as a teen I read and loved Ann Rule books so I’m used to her approach of making the victims relatable. I found it hard to follow because it seemed to jump around a lot. I enjoyed some sections that seemed to be linear, but would then run into a part that once again jumped around and didn’t flow seamlessly. I appreciate how much Dr. Sharon Derrick did to identify the victims and how far DNA testing has improved in the past decades. My main takeaway was how sorry I was for those boys and their families, some who didn’t survive to get resolution. If you are interested in a depraved serial killer that many have never heard of, you might love this book! 3 stars

This is true crime at its best--gritty and immersive without ever feeling exploitive, grounded in research. By looking back at why the victims of the "Candyman's" Houston murders, Olsen does more than recover historical and artifactual remains of their stories: she also offers readers a strong sense of why these stories continue to matter, what they can tell us about ourselves, and how we can move forward.

I think this book was pretty good, just not something I could get into at the moment. So it may just not be for me? It was a cool concept though and the characters were a lot of fun.

In the 1970s, at least 27 teenage boys in Houston were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered and buried by Dean Corll, given the moniker “The Candy Man.” Many were reported missing, but the police never put the cases together and in many instances wrote off the reports as kids who had run away.The horror these boys experienced was only made known when one of Corll’s young accomplices killed him. As bodies and bones were dug up, most of them were in such decayed condition that they couldn’t be identified. They became known as the “Lost Boys” until thirty years later when forensic anthropologist Sharon Derrick was determined to put a name to as many as she could, an effort that took years and was made possible only by scientific advances.

This is an important story; one that needs to be told and especially the lesson of how, along with prejudice against “ hippies” and homosexuality,
reports of poor teenagers missing from dysfunctional families were basically ignored by authorities. Equally important is the recounting of Derrick’s relentless search for the identity of the lost boys. The account, unfortunately, gets bogged down a bit in details, shifting timelines, and repetition.

The Scientist and the Serial Killer was an in depth (possibly too in depth for some) look at a case that I had long forgotten about. I am so grateful for Lise Olsen's in-depth reporting on a case that was so complex. So many forgotten turns in this case came to light - and I had no idea there were still victims that had not yet been identified! It blows my mind and really sheds light on the lack of motivation by the government to put resources and funding into DNA testing.

Grotesquely Fictionalized Serial Murders

The book begins with a good illustration with pins for the locations of the killings or bodies.
“Chapter 1: The Death of a Killer” takes on a pop-thriller novel linguistic density: not a good thing given the subject. It describes how Elmer Henley awoke, and random stuff he said like: “Hey, what are you doing?” What is the source of this description? The author seems to be imagining this fiction. Sources are not cited. After digressive notes, we suddenly learn that two people have been “hog-tied and handcuffed” on the “shag carpet”. Who would want to read this? The story is told from the perspective of serial-killers. And its describing “the nightmare” or making horrors out of events, seemingly for entertainment. I was hoping to be informed by this book, to learn the facts of this case. This is not a book I want to read. Even a novel version could have been better done by focusing on researching facts, and characters. The Contents page explains that the “new” forensic evidence the blurb focuses on is only covered in the last “Part VI: The Last Unsolved Mysteries”. There some facts are found, such as a summary of the case: “Ames, the alleged ringleader, was charged in federal court for distributing those pornographic images… and went to federal prison…” There have to be some grounding that explain such basic background before jumping into fictionalized portrayals of what the murderers did during the worst of their crimes. The point is to understand and stop such misconduct, and only detached information can do this.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

A chilling and thought-provoking exploration of the mind of a killer.

Lise Olsen's "The Scientist and the Serial Killer" is a gripping and unsettling novel that delves into the dark corners of the human psyche. The story follows a brilliant but troubled forensic psychologist as she becomes obsessed with understanding the mind of a notorious serial killer.

What makes it stand out:

The concept of a psychologist becoming dangerously fascinated with a killer is both chilling and thought-provoking. The protagonist is a complex and flawed character, making her both sympathetic and terrifying. Olsen creates a truly unsettling atmosphere, drawing the reader into the depths of the killer's twisted mind. The narrative occasionally slows down, which can disrupt the momentum.

"The Scientist and the Serial Killer" is a disturbing and unforgettable read that will stay with you long after you finish the final page. It's a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and those who are fascinated by the darkness that lies within the human mind.

This is a fantastic and expansive true crime book. Anyone with an interest in the genre will have likely heard of Corll, but not like this. A must-read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this book I had a hard time jumping into it. I would rate this a 3/5 I think it was good but something I wouldn’t pick up again.

Wow. There was so much about this book that I learned. The formatting of the book was messed up, so it made it hard to reward, but the detail was insane.

This was a very interesting account of a very tragic situation. I liked the writing and seeing the photography was haunting.

The Scientist and the Serial Killer by Lise Olsen tells the story of Houston's Lost Boys, victims of Dean Corll, aka the "Candy Man". The book was long and hard to follow. I tried but I did not finish this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

The story starts out really strong and intriguing but the details ended up being muddied by all of the extra information. It felt like the book took forever to read. Most true crime books are much more condensed and to the point. This book kept going back and forth between the scientist who helped IDing many of the victims and the actual story of the crime. I really think the book could have been organized better and condensed.

I really wanted to like this book because the story it tells is so important and heartbreaking, but I found it difficult to connect with. The narrative is all over the place, jumping back and forth in time, which made it hard to follow. With so many names and details thrown at you, it felt overwhelming rather than illuminating.

I was hoping for more focus on the science behind identifying the victims, but that part felt underwhelming. There’s one long explanation about bone measurements, but not much else about the forensic techniques. And when one of the victims was identified based on circumstantial evidence and inconclusive DNA, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the process.

Something else that didn’t sit right with me was how often the author described the victims as “beautiful” or “handsome.” It felt out of place and unnecessary, especially given the tragic nature of their stories.

The book also spends a lot of time on the various investigators, which took away from the focus on the victims and their families. I wanted to feel their stories more deeply, but the writing style made it hard to get there.

In the end, while the book does shed light on an important and horrific case, it just didn’t come together in a way that resonated with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.